Life as a party of four has brought tears of joy and precious moments, small doses of frustration, and at times, has been a comedy of errors. After two and a half months, I can say that we are finally getting into the swing of things. Hunter hasn't launched his sister out of her bassinet yet, so I consider that a marked success. He does seem to think he needs to poke her in the eye on a daily basis ("Hunter poke her in the eye?!"), but that's a story for another day.
Not too long ago, we returned from our first road trip with the double H (Hunter & Hayden). The Sitton Casa is still under construction from the renovations we began before Christmas and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will have everything completed by the end of March.
We worked with our contractors to complete the majority of the staining and painting while we were out of town for Hunter's last casting surgery. It seemed like a great plan to be able to visit family and friends and check out a few fun locations, like the Dallas Zoo, on our travel adventures. After 11 days of car rides, frigid weather/snow, and a restless toddler and two-month-old, while traveling from Georgetown, to Dallas, to Crawford, and to College Station; we finally made it back safely to Katy, America.
The nomadic way of life isn't for the faint of heart. Hunter saw snow for the first time, but it was really too cold to be outside and no zoo fun was to be had. I guess in my mind, as usual, I envisioned this perfectionistic view of us seeing all of our friends and family and doing tons of fun things with our little man and ladybug, all while singing songs as we happily drove down the road. We were able to visit with some family and a few good friends, but the crazy Texas weather put a damper on numerous plans. In the words of Merle Haggard, "That's the way love goes, babe".
We arrived in Dallas on the Tuesday prior to Hunter's casting, hoping to avoid the anticipated snow. Which of course, in Texas, feels like a blizzard, since the state seems to shut down and people forget how to drive when cold weather and icy conditions creep in.
James loaded the hotel cart with all of our things and Hunter was "helping" to push the cart as he likes to be a good helper these days. My hubby has the loading/unloading part of traveling down to a science and we have learned how to pare down on what we pack, even though I'm sure it still looks like we are packing as if we were moving to a foreign country.
Hunter is coming into his age and absorbing knowledge like a sponge. He knows how to count from 1 to 10 in English and Spanish, with a little help along the way. Sometimes he forgets where the number 5 fits in the mix, but I'm sure he will figure it out with all of the "fives" he's been giving to the new friends he meets. Since he enjoys counting, recognizing numbers, and pushing buttons, an elevator is like a fun carnival ride to him. Elevator going up, Sitton party of four makes their way onto the elevator. James pushes the cart onto the elevator stepping to the right of the cart and Hunter steps to the left. Hayden and I move to the right with James. The cart is piled high as I am tall. The door closes. Hunter is stuck next to the numbered panel. We ask him to push the number 3. Then we realize he can't reach the number 3. Smart little man can't help that he's vertically challenged! All I could do was laugh. Luckily someone pushed the button from outside the elevator and James was able to step out and get onto the other side of the cart.
As of February 21st, Hunter has been in a cast for one year. It has been an interesting year learning the ins and outs of cast life, but we are so thankful for this process and his progress. This last casting surgery was a bit different than the others, because Hunter had to undergo an MRI prior to casting. The MRI has to be completed yearly to monitor several syrinx/cysts within his spinal cord. Scottish Rite worked with Hunter's neurosurgeon from Texas Children's in order to complete the process back to back to allow minimal time out of cast and one anesthesia experience. Hunter had to have the cast removed for the MRI, so we went into the hospital on a Wednesday afternoon for a removal and returned bright and early Thursday morning for the MRI, followed by casting. Some doctors believe in taking cast breaks for a few days or weeks and allowing their patients to have some water time. Hunter's doctor believes that the breaks allow potential time for regression, so he performs continuous casting. Since he couldn't be in cast for the MRI, that allowed us less than 24 hours for cast free water time. We were eagerly anticipating that Hunter might want to splash in the tub and play like many littles that I have read about within our scoliosis group. When they cut the cast off, our little man, who many people mistake for having football pads, looked like a newborn calf. He struggled on his feet, almost falling, and scared himself with the uneasiness.
Before cast removal
We didn't recognize the body of this little boy that had been hiding underneath the plaster cast. After all, we had put a 17 month old toddler into the cast, so we weren't expecting a gangly little 2 1/2 year- old boy underneath. He continually grabbed at his shirt throughout the evening and you could tell that he didn't remember the feel of his shirt on his skin. I bought bubble bath and plenty of lotion to rub him down with. He has some skin breakdown (nothing like some of the other children that I have seen) and I wanted to be able to treat it before we had to put him back in cast. Hunter loves to take a "bath". For our casted Hunterman, that means bathing in two inches of water in our kitchen sink, with a trash bag protecting the cast. He likes to splash and distribute water from one cup to another. I thought he would enjoy taking a real bath and want to splash. He was Terrified. James tried to coax him into the tub and even got in the tub to lure him in. Hunter screamed and shook his cold little body. James and I put him in long enough to wash off his back to clean him so that I could apply lotion.
Looking straighter! Skin doesn't look too bad.
Rise and Shine...ready for cast #7!
Hunter completed the MRI and was relieved to be back in cast. Everything went as planned during the procedures and little sister was a trooper through the process.
Waiting for the goofy juice.
Post surgery..waiting for Hunter to wake up.
Always plenty of room in Mama's arms for her babies.
Hunter was sick for the majority of November and December and had lost weight. This was challenging, because correction in cast is directly correlated with growth. At the end of December we were told that he had had no change in cast. We chose to take that as a positive and focus on encouraging weight gain. It was a pleasant surprise to find out from his nutritionist a week before casting that he had gained 3 lbs. and grown 1 1/2 inches since his last visit. Praise God! At this point we were just praying for positive correction.
A few days after casting, I spoke with the nurse and she told me that Hunter is currently sitting at 17 degrees.
I am little confused about the progression of numbers, but thankful for the positive progress. In October, we were told that Hunter's curve was at 19 degrees. Again, we were told that there was no change in December. When the nurse called after the most recent cast, she told me that Hunter was down to 17 degrees from 23. I'm not sure if there was a mistake or if he had actually regressed in December. Either way we are counting our blessings for continued growth and positive progress.
Hunter has creeped into the terrible two's, and while there is some normal discord, we are thankful for a polite, vivacious little man who is full of personality. Never a dull moment around here. My favorite Hunterism right now is "Hi Baby, it's Hunter!" as he joyfully greets Hayden. His strength continually amazes us and we are certain that there are great things ahead for him.
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."-Helen Keller
Watching Hunter out of cast for that brief period made me think of the weakness of his spine in the shelter of his cast. He has become so used to its security and its comfort. I've never broken a bone, but I'm sure that I would resist the cast, rather than be thankful for its protection. I was recently drawn to 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." God has a plan for our little man and he is teaching all of us strength in the process. I am so thankful for the security that we have in Him and the fact that God's power shines when my weakness is apparent.
Hunter is scheduled to meet with his neurosurgeon on March 24th. We are saying prayers that the syrinx have remained constant and haven't increased in size. As always, please continue to keep Hunterman in your prayers and share his story with others.
Blessings to you and yours from the Sitton party of four!
Stay tuned, more to come...
